The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-02-25
LIFE IN CAMP CHASE.
STORY OF PLOTS TO ESCAPE AS
TOLD BY A MEMBER OF MESS II.

How Ono Of John II. Morgans Men
Evadcd search-Tunneling by the
Escape League"-The Man with the
BALL and Chain.
In military prisons of the north there
were three classes of prisoners. A large
majority took their incarceration without a
murmuv, expecting to be released at some
future time; and praying that tho war
would come to an end as soon as possible,
apparently satisfied that they were out OF
harms reach and under the protection of
"Unclc Sam" Another class, though but
few in number, were men who were sick of
tho war, and had no other ambition in life
than to get along as easy as possible, throw
ing all responsibility on others, informing
tho prison guards Of every attempt on the
part of the prisoners to effect an escape,
hoping thereby to gain "parole" or release.
They were generally known as "whito-
washed Confederates" or "stragglers.
Another class were the restless spirits, con-
tinually plotting for means of escape. OF
this class "mess H." mostly Texans, was
composed, and here all the plotting was
done.
THE BLANKET STORY.
The prison guards themselves believed the
blanket story, and to check it caused an in
spection Of the quarters and the bedding.
Each prisoner was allowed one blanket and
no more. Where prisoner had two
blankets, ono was taken away, and If
he was foolhardy enough to tear it in
shrcds to make rope, he stood a
good chance of freezing to DEATH Dur
ing tho search for extra blankets the pris-
oncrs were all formed in line on the out
side Of their quarters, which were thor
oughly searched. One Of the prisoners Of
'mess IA, Of John H. Morgan's command,
captured on the Ohio road, after being
wounded, however, refused to 60 out in
line, remaining in his Chunk" with twenty
eight blankets under him, belonging to va
rious members of tho mess. The officers dis
covered that he had been seriously wounded,
and that to get him out Of his quarters they
would be compelled to carry him, and as he
wcs mild hammered youth they let him
remain ON the blankets they were looking
for but could not find.
Had the prison officials raised one Of the
planks of the floor in this mess they would
havo discovered quito large hole, six feet
deep and tunnel extending about seventy
yards and under the prison wall, but they
did not discover it. The Escape League"
did not exceed twenty men, and never in
tended making an attempt to gain their lib
crty by overpowering tho guard, knowing
that 5000 or 5000 men released from a
prison would be nothing more than an I'M
armed, fleeing mob that could be cut down
by small body of troops.
The first tunnel was started in the new
prison vault, and had been extended about
200 feet beyond the prison wall, and the
Escape League" in mess IA only awaited
fog or a dark night. The escape was
frustrated by the rain filling the vault and
tunnel with water The next tunnel was
started in and under the quarters Of mess
H. The men digging it would deposit the
fresh earth in one of the vaults, but they
were discovered by some one Of the men not
in tho "League," and he informed the
prison guard that some one was attempting
to tunnel out. The filling of the vault with
fresh earth was sufficient evidence for the
officers to institute search for the tunnel,
but theyidid not find it. A t~--'
TRUITLEss INQUIRY.
The man who was discovered depositing
some of the earth was taken out of the
and who were his associates, but he was a
member of the League and had forgotten
how the earth was obtained They sent him
back to mess with ball and chain fastened
to one of his legs. Within twelve hours,
with the assistance of the League, the head
of tho rivet holding the shackles to his legs
was filed off in such a manner that they
could be replaced on the approach Of the
ot nd bo FINN
neling was continued. A few days later
solnc of the "stragglers'' discovered him
without the ball and chain, and SO informed
the guard; but when they entered the mess
the ball and chain were on his leg, and they
upbraided their informant. This miserable
follow was discovered by the League and
removed from prison by the guard, other
wise ho might have gained liberty in
DEATH when on the outside he evidently
convinced the officers that there was some
truth in his story, for young Rogers was
again taken outside the prison walls and
the prison authorities discovered how the
shackles could be removed. He was then
taken to the blacksmith's shop, where the
shackles were rivete in such manner that
they could not DO removed without their abb
sence being discovered, an as the mess was
now closely watched Uue UunuellHS proCeoS
came to an abrupt end. After Rogers had
worn the ball and chain about six weeks the
officers relented and had them taken off.
When portion of the prisoners was re-
moved early in the spring from Camp Chase
to Fort Delaware, a portion of the League
to march in line and embarked in
the same cars; escape was always upper
most in their minds. A small steel saw had
been secured, with which it was intended to
remove portion of the floor of the car,
and when tho engine should stop for water
or wood, to slip through and trust to luck;
but this was frustrated by young Rogers
breaking out with the smallpox on the first
day of our journey, and the League, now
but five members-one with the
smallpox and another wounded-reached
Fort Delaware without making another at
tempt at escape. -Globe-Democrat.
Character in the Hand.
Long fingers with the first joints well de-
veloped indicate bore; good deal of hair